Doom95 is the absolute worst choice. the DOS executable would be far more preferable.
you could try Chocolate Doom, which tries to remain as true to the original as possible.
Then don't use them. They don't come by default and they don't even work in Gzdoom anyway.
I have tried Chocolate Doom before, and it plays much like the original Doom does.
Now, regarding Doom95, have you seen this page?
http://www.flaterco.com/kb/DOOM/DOOM95.htmlOne serious fail mentioned there is that partial invisibility is misrendered, making it appear like abstract art. For some odd reason, when I play Doom95 on the old computer, which has Windows98SE, I don't get that problem and the partial invisibility gets rendered in the same way as in the DOS version. However, to get it to render properly on XP, I end up having to use the -emulator parameter in the run box. I've also had issues with sound cutting out, as I have an ISA card and the Microsoft drivers. However, after making a backup of DSound.dll, I tried putting an older version of the file in the C:\Windows\System folder, and although DXDiag reported an older version of the file being there, Doom95 was able to run without sound cutting out. After I finish playing, I restart the computer, then go back into the System folder and replace the older version of DSound.dll with the most current version on that computer, backed up in the C:\Windows\System\DirectX folder. For any other games on that computer, I don't do this. However, trying to use DSound.dll from DirectX5 or DirectX6.1 causes a BSOD when trying to play a game in Doom95, thus I need to use either the DirectX9 version of DirectSound or use one from DirectX3 and earlier. I'd prefer the older ones to prevent the sound from cutting out during gameplay.
A universal issue between Doom95 and other Windows source ports is midi music not playing correctly after certain tracks getting played. I've had issues with volume, modulation and pitch wheel settings not getting reset between tracks. (Not all midi software will harbor this problem. The 'Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth' doesn't do this, and I never had that problem with Doom95 when using an external module.) I managed to find a way to fix this by extracting the music and add a few necessary event commands to the start of the intermission screen music and other between level tracks, resetting those settings to their default values whenever those songs come on. As a result, during normal gameplay I don't deal with that midi problem again. For instance, if the intermission screen music 'D_DM2INT' gets played after the Doom II track 'D_DOOM' gets played, and then the track 'D_RUNNIN' gets played after the intermission music, the main theme of that track still plays at the correct pitch. (I was getting that midi volume/modulation/pitch problem with Doom95 while using a Roland SCC-1 card for the midi music under Windows 98SE on the old computer, and had been wanting to find a way around it.) Now I can't allow myself to add these events to every Doom track, for some tracks will be affected in an unacceptable way if this occurs, causing changes to the music itself. The music for Doom E1M8 is an example. Some of the pitch wheel parts disappeared during the conversion from the MIDI format to the MUS format that Doom95 uses. Final Doom for Windows 95 also had issues with the music first heard in TNT maps 2, 4, 13, 15 and 29, in that some music tracks had parts with volume levels far below what they should be. I had to use a midi editor such as Midi Maestro to fix that problem so that all of the instruments would be heard while the game was being played on those levels. For instance, in TNT Map 02, the saw wave instrument couldn't be heard originally in 'Final Doom for Windows 95', but could be heard in the DOS version of Final Doom. Once those changes were made to the music files, they were permanent.
The reason why I use Doom95 on the older computer is because my favorite source port, PrBoom, doesn't run at full speed in high resolutions on that computer, plus I can use the mouse's thumb button with Logitech MouseWare to have a Shift key assignment, enabling me to hold it down to use speed mode without having to hold down an actual Shift key. And I obviously don't need Chocolate Doom on that one. (The original DOS version runs very well.)
A few other source ports I have used are WinDoom, Doom Legacy, and Doomsday. Doom Legacy was my least favorite port, as it wasn't as faithful to the original game as I'd like. (I can't even play the Ultimate Doom episode Thy Flesh Consumed on that source port.)
If I'm going to play Doom on Windows XP in single player mode, I'll be likely to stick to PrBoom, and if I want it to behave like Doom, I'll just make the necessary changes to the options.
However, for an even better experience for myself, I've been doing one thing people might be less likely to do. I have been using a level editor called WadAuthor, and have been fixing level bugs such as missing textures and stuck monsters. Here's one example: The Cacodemons in the small rooms on either side of the exit in Ultimate Doom Episode 4 Map 4 'Unruly Evil' are no-longer glued together as I moved the rear Cacodemon in each room up to the back wall. When a switch is pressed that opens one of the doors in front of either set of Cacodemons, instead of them just sitting there and not being able to do anything until one of them is killed, they both fly out in my direction and start spitting ball lightning! (These types of fixes break compatibility with demos that were recorded with the bugs present, but I know those maps well enough that I don't need the demos.) I also used WadAuthor to fix the infamous yellow key bug in TNT Map 31 'Pharaoh'. Speaking of that map and Doom95, I replaced a few former sergeants to fix a bug with them waking up too early, preventing the problem with the last group of sergeants in that level not being able to ambush the player in Doom95. (The new ones are in the same places as the originals.)
Speaking of Doom95, the file DOOMLYNCH.DLL is a version downloaded from the internet, fixing the launcher's demo recording ability. I had also used a hex editor to fix a misspelling of E1M1 'Hangar', as it was displayed as 'E1M1 'Hanger'' in the launcher. The only problem I cannot fix is the mouse not working with the Doom95 under Windows XP. (It's a documented problem that has no fix due to virtual device drivers not being supported under Win2000 and later operating systems.) This problem is what causes me to use a source port under the newer operating systems. I save Doom95 for the multiplayer games, as I'm able to more easily start a multiplayer game in it than in PrBoom and any other source port that uses the command line. To make things easier for those that end up stuck with the keyboard alone, I simply replaced the movement key assignments from the arrow keys to the WASD layout.
At any rate, I'm likely to give Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 one try this coming week, before trying other source ports. I couldn't get a multiplayer game going in PrBoom between the HP 7285 and the Dell 2350, which was a bummer. I did succeed between the Dell 2350 and the HP a1440n, on the other hand. Doom95 was a success between all three computers.
